Locking apps on iPad

I have been looking for weeks for an app that either locks the App Store, or locks folders, or locks one of the home screens with my stuff on it. I have been reading forums and trying suggestions left and right to no avail until now. I already have a password required for downloading apps. I want to stop my children from being able to browse for different apps and I want the App Store to not open every time an advertisement in an app gets brushed over either on accident or pressed on purpose....because "mommy, this looks fun!" Also I may delete an app that no longer gets played and my children have recently located the "purchased" tab in the App Store and will re-download stuff and since it has been downloaded once it doesn't require a password. So frustrating to come back and find a mess of apps I have previously deleted.

So here is the solution that works beautifully for me.... When my children have my ipad and I cannot be right there with them, I completely disable the App Store and all it's components. It is easily disabled and re-enabled when you want it to be.

Here's how:

Settings>>General>>Restrictions>>enable Restrictions>>chose your pass code>>then make sure the slide for installing apps (and I chose deleting apps also) is set to off.

Now the App Store is gone, and even apps that open the App Store will not open it! I will also put the link with the instructions below and the page where I found those which is called the complete list of tips, tricks, and tutorials for the ipad!

Good luck to you all and hope this helped with your problem.

http://www.simplehelp.net/2012/02/20/how-to-disable-installing-apps-on-your-ipho ne-or-ipad/

http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/14529/the-complete-list-of-ipad-tips-tricks-and-t utorials/

I had the same issue with my three-year-old and my 18 month old. There is no product on the market to lock and application. And there is no cover that covers that main button.

So, what I did was buy the 'KaysCase KidBox Cover Case for iPad'. Plus I went to a arts and crafts store and purchase a piece of plastic with the thickness of a credit card. I cut the plastic to the size of the iPad and cut a hole the size of the iPad screen itself. Like a big square doughnut. I took a hole puncher in punch a hole for the camera show. But "not" one for the button on the bottom.

Now, anytime I want to let the kids use the iPad, I turn off all the applications and turn on all of the children applications. This allowed them to swipe the screen from one app to another or push the screen up and access any open app.

Wow. Im just as new to apple products as to this forum..but Jesus Christ- i have never seen so much arrogance and rudeness on A FORUM about a simple question...And from so many people... Omg. Thanks to the original author for bringing up the issue!! The rest of those who got unusually offended by the question-- for the sake of humanity learn the vital skills of communication with others via Online forums. Cheers :)

I am a teacher and have found the IPad to be very helpful for many things including AR, language development, and more. This has been especially true with students with special needs. Below are the steps I use to keep things under control within apps. For example, I may want them to stay in the math area of a game that may have choices like math, language, etc. To set up Guided Access perform the following steps:

1) Settings

2) General

3) Accessibility

4) Guided Access (listed under Learning)

5) Turn on Guided Access

6) Set a passcode (Important because some can figure out how to just triple click to get out. The pass code prevents them from doing turfing it off.)

7) Turn on triple click short cut

Go back out and open the app you want. Triple click the button. Draw a circle around areas you don't want accessed such as an in-app purchase or the choices for other sections of the game. These areas will be disabled and the child cannot exit the game. To turn off, just triple click again and enter your pass code. This will limit them to one game at a time. You will have to unlock each time to switch games. Then relics the new game. It is a little more work but better than kids accessing things you don't want them to play with.

I also highly suggest going into the settings and restrictions and turn off in app purchases and deleting.

I hope this helps.

The reason there is no option to lock a folder or apps to do this (even though there is a market for it) is that Apple want everyone to have their own personal Apple device(s). It's an IOS device, not a Windows PC.. Superb business model really, that's why we buy Apple after all.

[Apple want everyone to have their own personal Apple device(s). It's an IOS device, not a Windows PC.. Superb business model really, that's why we buy Apple after all.]

Speak for yourself. First Apple product, and likely last. Too many dumb restrictions...I could detail but don't want to get the fanboys riled up.

And you are commending them for doing what's best for their bottom line and not the consumer. Yep you sound like the perfect Apple customer.

Whether you like it or not, Apple are not where they are by accident and whilst there may be restrictions on their devices that can be frustrating, my point is that I believe that this restriction is there to make money, otherwise Apple would enable multiple logins or they would allow an app to provide the same function.

I resisted buying any Apple product for years because of the price, however I am past the point where I am willing to waste time installing this or that driver, having programs that lock up or hardware that is just not reliable.

I have a clunky android HTC I have to use for work, which is 18 months newer than my 4s but feels 3 years older.

Of course I'd like Apple products to be as cheap as their rivals, but until their rivals manufacture quality products that 'just work' I'll pay the extra. As I now have an iPad as well, I concede that the chance of me moving away from Apple is not great, but quite frankly I don't care. If you can afford BMW you wouldn't buy a KIA because it's cheaper and has more gadgets.

I think the new parental control app called Parentkit will solve a lot of these issues.

Yes, there are lots of ways to limit access on iOS devices.

- A new one that I've found is the app, Parent TimeLock. It will shut down an iPad after a set period of time requiring a password to restart the iPad.

* As others have mentioned;

- Certain Apple apps and iOS actions can be restricted.

Settings/General/Restrictions.

- An iPad can be limited to one app.

Settings/General/Accessibility/Guided Access.

- And certain 3rd party iOS apps like EverNote have their own individual passwords.

But it's true that the Apple system doesn't allow separate passwords for every app.

And there are no multi user profiles in iOS.

- iPads/iPhones are designed primarily as single user devices.

How do I just block games instead of all aps?

You can't. And there is no app out ther that can block individual apps (games). Its all or nothing. The closes thing to having any type of control is Parentkit (im a big advocate of it now), but again it works on an all apps or no apps basis.

Simple. Save $400 and buy an android, then download "AppLock".

Couldn't this become a Legal Question?

Ipads are used in schools and not having the possibility to adequately lock individual Apps is like a schoolbook where you can't take out pornographic pages and a teacher cannot keep watch on all children constently.

Oh yes, fire on my question with parental and supervision responsibilities but like others stated that is not the question here and not having the possibility to develop such an App because of the API rules Apple set up is very irresponsible from Apples side and could very well be against the law.

There are many, many people asking for the ability to have an Applock App and Apple is blocking this. On my TV I can lock Channels with content not suited for children, movies are with age advice, sexual scenes are not aired before a certain time. App lock possibility goes beyond the marketing and sales strategies of Apple and if neccessary should be forced, not on every Ipad but surely by opening up the API for development on this.

Drilling-Billy wrote:

Couldn't this become a Legal Question?

Ipads are used in schools and not having the possibility to adequately lock individual Apps is like a schoolbook where you can't take out pornographic pages and a teacher cannot keep watch on all children constently.

Schools can and do set restrictions to prevent the downloading of unapproved apps, just as they have the option of not placing on open shelves, books that may not be appropriate for the age group in question.

I'm not sure where legality comes into this. I suspect, by "pornographic" what you really mean is "sexually explicit" if you think that removing a couple of pages clean things up. There are many great works of literature with varying degrees of explicit imagery. I do not believe it is illegal for children to read them. Bowdlerizing books, however, ought, in my opinion, to be a crime. But, I'm not in charge. 🙂

I think the difficulty is in the fact that this is a whole new problem not easy to be compared to anything else.

What I find most frustrating is that I simply cannot let me 3 year old son use the Ipad without supervision which would be no problem if AppLock and further Ipad restrictions would be possible.

The Ipad is a device that is very suitable for children to play with. But it is also a device that holds software and information that is not suited for those little eyes. A very simple solution to withhold a child from seeing things it is not supposed to see is by an API that lets developers design an adequate restriction App.

Since our frustration on these forums isn't leading to any change I really think that just one laywer on TV announcing legal action would be able to free the path for AppLock and give Apple the possibility to give it a Marketing spin.

"We have made the Ipad even more kids friendly and child safe!" or whatever...

As it is now the whole bookshelf is either closed or fully open while we are merely asking for the possibility to place some books higher up the shelves for kids not to reach...